Unitary refrigerating air conditioner



March 20, 1956 H, D. GUMPPER ETAL 2,733,555

UNITARY REFRIGERATING AIR coNDxTIoNER 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Aug. 25, 1952 l I l l March 20, 1956 H. D. GUMPPER ET AL 2,738,655

UNITARY REFRIGERATING AIR CONDITIONER Filed Aug. 25, 1952 2 sheets-sheet 2 ww NIJ United States Patent() `UNITARY REFRIGERTING AIR vCONDITIONER Harold D. `Gumpper and Robert C. Marsh, Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.,.assignors..to The Ready-PowerCompany, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application August 25, 1952, SerialNo. 306,084

6 Claims. (Cl. 62-117.2)

This inventionrelates to Arefrigeratng apparatus and, in particular, to air refrigeratng and conditioning ap- Aparatus.

One object of`this invention is to provide a self-contained refrigeratng air conditioner wherein rall lof the components thereof are mounted'upon a single frame or base, so as to be removable Yand insertable as a unit intothe'space in which it is to be used, such `asin a railway refrigerator car, refrigerated 'truck or the like.

Another object is to provide a self-contained refrigerating air conditioner of the foregoingcharacter which is of the most compact construction and arrangement in order that it canbe accommodated in the Vvery limited space .available for it in railway refrigerator cars, such 'as in the ice compartment .at one end of such a car.

Another object is to provide a self-contained refrigerating air conditioner of the foregoing character wherein the fans and other moving components :are driven directly from an internal combustion engine, preferably by belts, and the compressor is driven directly from the engine shaft, so as to give the utmost simplification of arrangement, flexibility of operation so as .to handle different refrigeration 'loads by merely changing the speed, and with absolute dependability so .that it will operate with onlyminor attention for as long a period as two weeks at a time without danger o'f failure whichwillgjeopardize or ruin the .cargo being maintained in a refrigerated condition.

Another object is to provide an engine-driven self-contained refrigeratng air lconditioner of .the 'foregoing character wherein the internal combustion engine andrefr-igerant-compressor are directly coupled to one another and mounted together as a .sub-uniton a sub-base which is also separately removable from the main frame. or main base, as by sliding it out of the latter, so as to enable .the engine and compressor to be separately serviced outside of the refrigerated space Aor compartment without .the need .for removing thev air conditioner-as a whole.

.Another object is toprovi'dean engine-driven self-contained refrigeratng air conditioner of the foregoing .character which is substantially 'free from electric Tgenerators and electric motor or otherinexible vor undependable auxiliaries and wherein the utmost accessibility is provided for ease of servicing, .substantially all of the principal -moving `parts .being accessible from one side of the apparatus.

Another object is to provide ,an Aengine-.driven selfcontained refrigeratng air conditioner of ,the foregoing character wherein defrosting of the air conditioning coil isaccomplished by diverting warm waterfrom the engine cooling lsystem to a ,defrosting coilincorporated in the conditioning coil.

Another object is to provide an engine-driven selfeontained refrigeratng air conditioner ofthe foregoing character wherein the blowers or fans for circulating the refrigerated air andfor passing outside air over the condenser and engine cooling radiator 'are mounted on a common shaft and driven directly,preferably 'by belts,

from the internal combustion engine, thereby further simplifying the installation and accordingly `increasing its dependability.

Another object is to provide a self-contained refrigerating air conditioner of the foregoing character wherein provision is also made for heating the air being conditioned, such as when the refrigerator car, truck or ship passes through very cold regions in winter or under arctic conditions, such as when crossing high mountain passes, thereby preventing spoilage of cargo by the application of excessive cold.

Another object is to provide a self-contained refrigerating air conditioner of the foregoing character vwherein air cooling, air heating'and defrosting are carried out by different setting or manipulation of a lset of dampers, the relative positions of which determine the operation of the installation at that Yparticular time.

Another Objectis to provide a self-contained portable refrigeratng air conditioner which by a predetermined setting of its controls will assure a substantially constant cargo space temperature and air condition regardless of changes in the temperature and air condition in the outside environment.

Other objects .and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following description of the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in vertical section, of a self-contained refrigeratng air conditioner, according to one form of the invention, as installed in a railway refrigerator car, looking in the direction of the arrows 1--1 in Figure 2; and

Figure 2 is a left-hand end elevation of the air conditioner shown in Figure l, with the refrigerator car walls in cross-section.

In general, the-problem of 4transportation of fresh fruit and vegetables from the areas in which they are grown to the far distant areas in which they are sold and consumed has been very serious. Particularly in the case of fruit, the temperature of the refrigerated compartment must be carefully maintained so as to avoid .both excessive- 4ly'h'igh and low temperatures, such as arise under the different operating conditions of summer and winter, or in different geographical sections of the country, as Well as at varying elevations above sea level. Furthermore, the problem is increased in severity .due to the recent enormous growth .in the use of quick-frozen fruits and vegetables, it being of course desirable that the samevrefrigerator ycar equipped with .the same refrigeratng air conditioner be capable of handling either fresh unfrozen cargoes or frozen cargoes under any geographic or climatic conditions.

Hitherto, refrigerator cars were in past years equipped with ice compartments or bunkers .at opposite ends of the car, these being stocked with ice at the beginning of the trip andreplenished with ice at .intervals of every few days, depending upon the operating conditions. More recently, railroads and shippers have sought to replace ice refrigeratng cars with mechanically refrigerated equipment which is more flexible, requires less attention, and will operate over longer periodsof time and throughout a greater temperature range of refrigeration than is possible with ordinary ice refrigeration. These more recent mechanical refrigeration installations, however, although an improvement over ice refrigeration, have not been completely satisfactory because of the diiliculty of servien ing the various components, these being mounted in various locations within the end compartment of the refrigerator car `and removable only as separate components.

The isolation of these refrigerator cars, particularly when they are switched from one train to another or "stand in railway yards, 'makes it almost imperative that theylbe equipped with afprime moverwhich isindependent of the locomotive or any source of energy outside the car itself. Accordingly, internal combustion engines have been proposed and recently used to drive such refrigerating apparatus. Gasoline engines are undesirable because of the tire hazard accompanying their use, so Diesel engines have been selected as most satisfactory. In prior installations, however, electric motors have been employed to drive the various fans or blowers, compressor, pumps and other auxiliaries and these in turn have required the provision of a generator driven from the internal combustion engine in order to supply the necessary electric current. However, even if the complexity of these prior systems be accepted, nevertheless their electric motors are relatively inflexible, hence may not conveniently be increased or reduced in speed in order to adapt the installation from refrigerating fresh unfrozen food products to refrigerating frozen food products at the necessarily low temperature conditions required.

The present invention eliminates all these electric motors and their generator, together with the electrical auxiliaries required, mounts all of the components upon a single frame structure or base, and drives all of the moving parts directly from an internal combustion engine.

The present apparatus is therefore adaptable to either frozen or unfrozen cargoes or to dilerent sizes of refrigerator cars merely by changing the speed of the internal combustion engine and consequently changing the speed of operation of the compressor, fans or blowers and other components.

Referring to the drawings in detail, Figure l shows an engine-driven self-contained refrigerating air conditioner, generally designated 10, as installed in the end compartment 11 of a conventional refrigerator car 12, such as is used for transporting fruits, vegetables and other foods or perishable commodities over long distances. The refrigerator car 12 is shown solely for purposes of illustration, as the refrigerating air conditioner is equally adaptable for installation in a motor truck, ship, or even in a stationary building wherein the above-stated objects and advantages of the present invention are sought to be achieved. The refrigerating air conditioner 10 is in turn composed of two sub-assemblies, namely the engine-compressor unit 13 which is also in package or unit form and removable as a unit from the blower-evaporator-condenser unit 14 of the apparatus.

The refrigerator car 12 shown for purposes of illustration is represented in a purely diagrammatic form as including insulated floor, ceiling, side and end walls 15, 16, 17 and 18 respectively, and a partition Wall 19 or bulkhead which divides the interior of the refrigerator car 12 into a refrigerated cargo compartment 20 (Figure 2) and a refrigeration machinery compartment 21, formerly the ice compartment or bunker of the car. The side walls 17 are provided with door openings 22 for receiving doors 23 to which access is had to either or both sides of the machinery compartment 21, and each of the doors 23 is provided with an opening 24 containing spaced louvers or shutters 25 and a dust filter 26 for preventing the entrance of dust to the compartment 21. The bulkhead 19 is also provided with upper and lower air passageways 27 and 28 (Figure 1) through which the refrigerated air isl inserted and removed respectively from the cargo compartment 20, The floor 15 is bored as at 28a to receive a drain funnel 29 for discharging the water resulting from the defrosting operation described below. The ceiling 16 is surmounted by a roof 30 (Figure 2), both of which are provided with aligned openings for the passage of a discharge stack 31, only the ceiling opening 32 being shown.

The various components of the refrigerating air conditioner 10 are mounted and supported upon a frame structure, generally designated 33, which includes a main base structure 34 composed of longitudinal channel members 35 interconnected at their opposite ends by angle or channel members 36. Secured as by welding to the inner .surfaces of the channel members 35 are angle members or tracks 37, the members 36 being positioned lower than the members 37 so as to permit an engine-compressor unit sub-base 38 to slide thereover (Figure 2). The subbase 38 in turn consists of parallel outwardly-facing longitudinal channel members 39 interconnected by end channel members 40, the lower flanges of the channel members 39 and 40 resting upon and slidably engaging the upper surfaces of the angle members or guide tracks 37. The various base and frame members are preferably welded to one another. In order to hold the sub-base 38 in a stationary position upon the main base 34, the latter is provided with an angle bracket 41, the horizontal flange of which is secured as by welding to the upper flange of one of the side channels 35 of the main base 34, whereas the vertical ange is bored to receive a shaft 42 on the inner end of which is mounted an eccentric locking cam 43 and on the outer end a hand lever 44 by which the eccentric cam 43 is rotated into and out of locking engagement with the upper flange of the adjacent sub-frame channel member 39. In practice, the latter is preferably recessed or concaved slightly at its point of engagement with the cam 43 in order to provide a positive locking depression (not shown).

The main frame structure 33, in addition to the main base structure 34, includes uprights 45 rising from and preferably welded to the upper flanges of the main base channel structure 34. The uprights 45 are interconnected by the inclined intermediate bottom wall 46 of a housing, generally designated 47, which also includes end walls 48 interconnected by laterally-spaced upper and lower rear walls 49 and 50 and a top wall 51. Secured to the forward edges of the end Walls 48 and top wall 51 and lower bottom walls 52 of the housing 47 so as to enclose a chamber 53 therein is a face plate or frame 54 in the form of an open rectangular frame of angle members, the side flanges of which are secured to the outer surfaces of the side, top and lower bottom Walls 51, 48 and 52 respectively, the inner surfaces of these walls defining a central opening 55. A resilient gasket 56 of rubber or the like is cemented, bonded or otherwise secured to the face plate 54. Also secured at intervals around the periphery of the face plate 54 are locking wedges 57 which are engaged by the arms 58 of locking levers 59 pivoted at 60 to base plates 61 which in turn are bolted or otherwise secured to the bulkhead 19. The levers 59 cooperating with the wedges 57 urge the face plate 54 and the entire housing 47 into air-tight engagement with the bulkhead 19.

Mounted on the sub-frame 38 is a conventional internal combustion engine 62, preferably a diesel engine having the usual water jacketed cylinder block 63 and ywheel 64. The ywheel 64 is connected by a coupling device 65 to a conventional refrigerant compressor 66 having multiple cylinders 67 containing pistons (not shown) reciprocated by the operation of the engine 62. The engine 62 is also equipped with a Water pump 68 for cooling purposes having its outlet or discharge pipe 69 connected 'to the water jacket of the engine cylinder block 63 and its inlet or suction pipe 70 connected to an engine-cooling coil or radiator 71 mounted transversely across the outside air passageway 72 contained in a housing extension 73 located on the right-hand end of the housing 47 (Figure l). The outside air passageway 72 communicates at its upper end with the stack 31, which extends downwardly into the housing extension 73 through an opening 74 in the top thereof.

The lower portion of the housing extension 73 is provided with an air nletkopening 75 through which outside air can enter after passing through the spaces between the louvers 25 in the openings 24 and through the dust filters 26, as indicated by the arrows 76 (Figure l). From the engine cooling coil or radiator 71, a water pipe 70 runs to a valve 78 connected on its opposite side to a T pipe 79 leading to the water jacket of a cylinder head `of `the engine cylinder `block 63. The shaft 81 of the waterpump `69 is connected to anddriven by the `engine 62 in the'usual way.

Connected to the-pipe 79 through which the heated water leaves Vthe engine cylinder head 80 is a valve 82 from which a water pipe 83 leads upward to a defrosting coil `84 from which a return pipe 85 leads back to one -side of a valve 86 from the opposite side of `which a pipe 87 runstoa connection with the pipe 70. The defrosting coil 84 is a part of a coil nest or assembly 88 mounted upon the upper bottom wall 46 (Figure 2). Alsomounted in the same `general location and forming a part of the coil nest or assembly S8 is an evaporator coil 90, one end of which is connected to a refrigerant intake pipe 91 extending downward to a conventional expansion valve`92 from which a pipe 93 `extends downward to a liquid refrigerant reservoir 94 located at the bottom of the apparatus (Figure 1). The opposite end of the evaporator coili90 is connected by a pipe 95 to the intake 96 of the compressor-66 on the suction side thereof.

The discharge or pressure side of the compressor 66 is connected 'through a conventional oil eliminator 97, for 'removing the lubricating oil from the refrigerant, to a refrigerant shut-off valve 98 from which a compressed refrigerant discharge `pipe 99 leads to a refrigerant condenseror refrigerant cooling coil 100, likewise located in the outside air passageway 72 lof the casing extension 73 adjacent the engine cooling 'coil or radiator 71. A refrigerant shut-olf valve 98a is also placed in the refrigerant suction pipe 95. YFrom the condenser 100, a pipe descends to the liquid refrigerant reservoir 94.

Mounted in theoutside air passageway 72 of the housing extension73 between the air inlet opening 75 and the condenser 100 (Figure 4l.) is adamper 102 having `pivotally-rnounted vanes or shutters 103. Mounted in the upper part of the housing 47 and journaled as at 104 inthe end walls 48 thereof is a shaft 105 upon which are :mounted fans or blowers 106, 107 and 108. The fan 108 is mounted within the lower end of the stack 31 adjacent aninlet opening 109 thereof (Figure l), so that when the shaft 105 is rotated, air is drawn upward throughthepassageway 72 from the outside air openings V24 and .75 and damper 102 through the coils 71 and 100 anddischarged upward throughthe stack 31.

Mounted on the shaft 105 is a pulley assembly 110 which is drivingly connected by multiple belts 111 to a Vpulley assembly 112 mounted on the crank shaft (not shown) of theinternal combustion engine `62. Also engaging the multiple belts `111 is an idler-pulley 113 which is mounted upon a shaft 114 journaled in a bearing I bracket 115 which is bolted or otherwise secured to the bottom wall 46 (Figure 2).

The fans 106 and 10.7 Vare mounted in casings 116 and 117 which `are secured to the walls of the housing 4'7 and Yhave .central inlet openings 118 and peripheral dischargeopenings 119. The entrance of the warm air returning from `the refrigerated cargo compartment through the 4bulkhead passageway 28 is regulated by an 1inletdamper 1.20 havingmultiple pivoted vanes 121 and located across a vertical passageway 122 (Figure 2) leading upward between the housing wall 50 and refrigerator vcar bulkhead 19. The outlet of the refrigerated air from the fans v106 and 107 .is regulated by outlet dampers -123 having multiple pivoted vanes or shutters A124 and mounted across `an outlet opening 125 in the top extends downwardly to the drain Ifunnel 29 vforcarrying .away the water .resulting from the vdefrosting of Athe evaporator coil 90.

In the operation of tthe self-contained refrigerating airconditioner 10of-the presentinvention, let it be assumed that the'entire apparatus has been mounted,.for example, within the end 'compartment 21 of a conventional refrigerator car 12 and its housing extension 73 connected to the stack 31, as shown. Itwill also be `assumed that the engine 62 is connected to a suitable source 'of liquid fuel, such as a diesel oil tank (not shown). Let it be assumed that it is 4desired to refrigerate the air within the cargo compartment 20. The engine 62 is started in the usual way, operating the compressor 66 to compress the gaseous refrigerant entering its intake port 96 from the pipe 95 returning from the evaporator coil 90. The refrigerant may be of any suitable type, such as the socalled Freon 12 or 22 commercially available and wellknown to the refrigerating industry under those designations. Other gaseous'refrigerants may, of course, be used, the particular refrigerant selected depending upon the installation and being beyond the scope of the present invention. The gaseous refrigerant thus compressed, passes through the oil eliminator 97, the valve 98 and the pipe 99 through the condenser 100 where it is cooled by the upwardly-moving air indicated by the arrows 76 (Figure 1), it being of course assumed that the damper 102 is open at this time. Freed from the heat generated during the compression of the gas within the compressor 66, the compressed refrigerant descends as a liquid through the pipe A101 to the reservoir 94. From the reservoir 94, the liquid refrigerant passes upward through the pipe 93, expansion valve 9,2 and pipe 91 into the evaporator coil where it absorbs heat from the air .passing upward from thelower part of the cargo compartment 20 through the `lower passageway 122 and damper 120 which is open at this time. The damper 128, meanwhile, is in a closed position while the damper 125 is open. The air to lbe refrigerated, indicated by the arrows 133, passes through Ithe evaporator coil 90 (Figure .2) in response to thesuction exerted by the fans 106 and 107, and is discharged,.after being refrigerated, through the damper 125, duct 126 and upper passageway 27, as indicated by the arrows 134 (Figure 2). The heat extracted from the incoming air 133 by the evaporator 90 is absorbed by the refrigerant passing therethrough, converting itto a gas which returns through the pipe to the intake port 96 of the compressor 66, completing the refrigeration circuit.

During the refrigerating steps of the operation as described above the 4variouscomponents are controlled auto matically by control devices which are not shown in the drawings and are beyond the scope of the present iuvention. These control devices, which are known to-refrigerating engineers, include thermostats which govern control valves regulating the refrigerant flow through the ycooling circuits of the evaporator coil 90. The head pressure and vengine temperature are regulated by varying the position of the shutters or vanes 1030i the damper 102. The speed and loading of the compressor 66 are also controlled by conventional devices associated with the compressor 66 and likewise forming no part of the'present invention. While the defrosting coil 84 and evaporator coil 90are shown as single units superimposed one upon the other within the coil nest 88, in actualprac'tice these are subdivided into several such coils arranged in succession for obtaining the maximum eiciency. i

While the engine 62 is thus operating to actuate the compressor 66, its cylinder block 63 and cylinder head 80 are cooled by water circulated through the water jackets thereof by means of the pump 68 and by way of the pipe 79, valve 78 (which is open at `this time), cooling coil orI ,radiator'lL and pipe 70. The valves 82 and 86 are closed at this'time.

, an electrical or mechanical timer.

In order to defrost the evaporator coil 90, as determined automatically or by the operator, as desired, the inlet and outlet dampers 120 and 123 are closed and the defrosting damper 128 is opened. The valves 82 and 86 (Figure l) in the water lines 83 and 85, 87 respectively are opened and the valve 78 closed. The `valves 78, 82 and 86, for purposes of simplicity, are shown as manually operated valves, whereas in practice these valves would be electromagnetically operated in response to the automatic control circuit which determines the commencement of a defrosting cycle in response to temperature or pressure difference across the opposite ends of the evaporator coil 90 or by At the same time, the compressor 66 is unloaded. These automatic devices and unloading arrangements for the compressor 66 form no part of the present invention.

With the valves 78, 82 and 86 arranged in this manner, the flow of water from the cooling jackets of the engine 62 through the pipes 77 and 70 to and from the engine cooling coil or radiator 71 is terminated and at the same time, the flow of the water heated in the engine cooling water jackets passes upward through the pipes 79 and 83 and the now open valves 82 into the defrosting coil 84 and back through the return pipes 85 and 87 and the now open valve 86 to the pump 68 and thence through the discharge pipe 69 thereof to the engine water jackets again. The

heat from the heated water passing through the defrosting coil 84 in this manner is communicated to the evaporator coil or coils 90 disposed adjacent thereto, melting the frost off the latter. The water resulting from the melting frost as a result of this defrosting operation passes downward to the bottom wall 46 and out through the drain pipe 131 and drain funnel 29.

When the defrosting operation has been completed, as determined by the control devices mentioned above, the defrosting damper 129 is again closed and the outlet and inlet dampers 123 and 120 again opened, the valves 82 and 86 are closed and the valve 78 again opened, causing the evaporator coil 90 to refrigerate the air in the previously-described manner as the compressor 66 is again caused to compress the refrigerant as described above.

When the refrigerator car 12 passes through a region where undesirably low temperatures are at that time eX- isting, such as in passing over the Continental Divide in wintertime, with certain cargoes, such as unfrozen fresh fruit, it is necessary to supply heat to the cargo compartment in order to prevent spoilage of the cargo. When this becomes necessary, the valves 82 and 86 are opened and the valve 78 closed so as to divert the heated engine cooling water through the defrosting coil 84 as described above in connection with the defrosting operation. At the same time, the compressor 66 is unloaded so that it no longer compresses the refrigerant or supplies refrigerant to the evaporator coil or coils 90. At this time, however, the defrosting damper 128 is closed, whereas the inlet and outlet dampers 120 and 123 are opened by suitable control devices responding to the existing ternperatures, the engine speed is increased, if necessary, to provide a sufficient quantity of heated water to the defrosting coil 84, whereupon the air drawn through the coil 84 from the cargo compartment 20 by way of the passageways 28 and 122 and the open inlet damper 120 is heated and discharged through the duct 126 and passageway 27 into the cargo compartment 20 by the action of the fans or blowers 106 and 107. The engine heat is again regulated by regulation of the damper 102 located adjacent and immediately beneath the engine cooling coil 71,

lf at any time it becomes necessary to perform repairs .upon either the engine or the compressor 62 or 66 respectively, their various pipes may be disconnected easily from them, whereupon the locking lever 44 is rotated to release the eccentric cam 43 from engagement with the subframe 38. The engine compressor unit 13, mounted on its subbase or sub-frame 38, may then be slid outward upon the main base structure 34 of the main frame structure 33 and removed from the refrigerator car through one of the doors 23. It may be replaced immediately by another engine compressor unit 13 which is reinserted by reversing the above procedure and locked in position by means of the handle 44 and locking cam 43. The various pipes and belts are then reconnected in an obvious manner and the ail conditioner 10 placed back in service immediately afterward, if desired, thus preventing any substantial interruption in service and eliminating the necessity for removing the entire refrigerating air conditioner 10 from the refrigerator car 12 for engine or compressor repairs. Even without removing the engine compressor unit 13 in this manner, the fact that the lower portion of the apparatus is completely accessible from the rear as from the right-hand side of the space 21 (Figure 2), enables minor repairs or adjustments to be made upon the apparatus, including the engine compressor unit 13, Without removing either the unit 13 from the air conditioner 10 or removing the air conditioner 10 bodily from the car 12.

Finally, for comprehensive repairs which cannot be made in either of the ways described above, the entire refrigerating air conditioner 10 may be removed bodily as a unit by unclamping its face plate 54 from the bulkhead 19 by operating the hand levers 59, disconnecting the stack 31 and then sliding the entire air conditioner 10 out through one of the doors 23. The stack 31, shown for purposes of simplicity as in a single piece, in actual practice would be jointed and flanged to enable its separation from the remainder of the air conditioner 10 for easy removal.

What we claim is:

l. A unitary refrigerating air-conditioner for cooling the air of a compartment disposed above a floor and having a sidewall, said air conditioner comprising a supporting frame structure disposed adjacent said side wall, said frame structure being slidably mounted on and supported by said oor independently of said side wall, a refrigerant reservoir mounted on said frame structure, a base slidably mounted upon said frame structure and separately removable therefrom independently of the removal of said frame structure and the equipment mounted thereon, a prime mover and a refrigerant compressor mounted on said base and drivingly connected to one another, an evaporator mounted on said frame structure and connected at spaced locations thereon to said compressor and reservoir, a condenser mounted on said frame structure and connected at spaced locations thereon to said compressor and reservoir, a compartment air circulator drivingly connected to said prime mover and arranged to circulate air from said compartment through said evaporator and back to said compartment, and a condenser air circulator drivingly connected to said prime mover and arranged to circulate cooling air through said condenser.

2. A unitary refrigerating air-conditioner for cooling the air of a compartment disposed above a oor and having a side wall, said air-conditioner comprising a supporting frame structure disposed adjacent said side wall, said frame structure being slidably mounted on and supported by said floor independently of said side wall, a refrigerant reservoir mounted on said frame structure, a base slidably mounted upon said frame structure and separately removable therefrom independently of the removal of said frame structure and the equipment mounted thereon, a prime mover and a refrigerant compressor mounted on said base and drivingly connected to one another, an evaporator mounted on said frame structure and connected at spaced locations thereon to said compressor and reservoir, a condenser mounted on said frame structure and connected at spaced locations thereon to said compressor and reservoir, a compartment air circulator drivingly connected to said prime mover and arranged to circulate air from said compartment through said evaporator and back to said compartment, and a condenser air circulator drivingly connected to said prime mover and arranged to circulate cooling air f" through said condenser, said supporting frame structure with said slidable base and said reservoir, prime mover,

compressor, evaporator, condenser and air circulators being removable as a single unit from its locationadjacent said compartment. l

3. A unitary refrigerating air conditioner for lcooling the air of a compartment, comprisinga supporting frame` said compressor and reservoir,V a condenser mounted on said frame structure and connected at Vspaced locations thereon to said compressor and reservoir, a compartment air circulator drivingly connected to-said engine and arranged to circulate air from said compartment through said evaporator and back to said-compartment, a condenser air circulator drivingly connected to said engine and arranged to circulate cooling air through said condenser, said engine having a radiator-equipped cooling circuit connected thereto with its engine-cooling radiator disposed adjacent said evaporator in heat-transmitting relationship thereto and selectively connectible to and disconnectible from said cooling circuit.

4. A unitary refrigerating air-conditioner for cooling the air of a compartment, comprisinga supporting frame structure disposed adjacent said compartment, a refrigerant reservoir mounted on said frame structure, an internal combustion engine and a refrigerant compressor mounted on said frame structure and drivingly connected to one another, an evaporator mounted on saidframe structure and connected at spaced locations thereon to said compressor and reservoir, a condenser mounted on said frame structure and connected at spaced locations thereon to said compressor and reservoir, a compartment air circulator drivingly connected to said engine and arranged to circulate air from said, compartment through denser air circulator drivingly connectedto said engine and arranged to circulate cooling air through said condenser, .said engine having a radiator-equipped cooling circuit connected thereto with its engine-cooling radiator disposed adjacent said evaporator inV heat-transmitting relationship thereto and selectively connectible to and disconnectible from said cooling circuit, and a heated air damper arranged to selectivelyV discharge air heated by said cooling radiator into said compartment and alternatively into a space disposed externally of said compartment.

5. A unitary refrigerating airconditioner for cooling the air of a compartment, comprising a supporting frame structure disposed adjacent said compartment, a refrigerant reservoir mountedon said frame structure, anv internal combustion engine and a refrigerant compressor mounted on said frame structure and drivingly connected said evaporator and back to said compartment, a conto one another; an evaporator mounted on said frame structure and connected at spaced locations thereon to said compressor and reservoir, a condenser mounted on said frame structure andconnected atspaced locations thereon to said compressor and reservoir, a compartment air circulator drivingly connected to said engine and arranged to circulate air from said compartment through said evaporator and back to said compartment, a con denser air circulator drivinglyl connected to said engine j and .arranged to Vcirculate cooling air through said condenser, said engine having a radiator-equippedl cooling circuit connected thereto with its engine-cooling radiator Vdisposed adjacent said evaporator in heat-transmitting relationship thereto and selectively connectible to and disconnectible from `said cooling circuit, a heated air damper arranged to selectively discharge air heated by said cooling radiator into said compartment and alternatively into a space disposed externally of said compartment, and selectively openable and closable inlet and outlet air dampers disposed preceding said evaporator j and following said compartment air circulator.

'6. A unitary refrigerating air-conditioner for cooling the air of a compartment disposed above a iloor and having a side wall, said vair-conditioner comprising a supporting frame structure disposed adjacent said side Wall, said frame structure being slidably mounted on and supported by said tloor independently of said side Wall, a refrigerant reservoir mounted on said frame structure, a base slidably mounted upon said frame structure and separately removably therefrom independently of the removal of said frame structure and the equipment mounted thereon, a prime mover and a refrigerant compressor mounted on said base and drivingly connected to one another, an evaporator' mounted on said frame structure and connected at spaced locations thereon to said compressor and'reservoir, a condenser mounted on said frame structure and connected at spaced locations thereon to said compressor and reservoir, a compartment air circulator drivingly connected to said prime mover and said evaporator and back to` said compartment, a condenser air circulator drivingly connected to said prime moverand arranged to circulate cooling air through said condenser, anda locking device selectively securing said base immovably yet releasably to said frame structure.`

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS A Hieke et al Nov. 16, 

